The author James McCreet offers a guide to Nafplion, one of mainland Greece's
most beautiful destinations.

WHY NAFPLION?

I lived and worked as a teacher here for a year in 1998 and have returned every summer since. Even the Greeks recognize that it's the most beautiful of all mainland towns, with its numerous Venetian and Turkish buildings, twisting labyrinthine streets and a sophisticated atmosphere that's a million miles from a tourist resort. Athenians flood the place at weekends to preen and pose in the cafes.

WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST WHEN YOU ARE AWAY?

The gentle pine-scented breeze and the view from the seafront cafes across the Argolic gulf (with its island castle - the Bourtzi) towards the mountains of Arcadia. I used to spend every morning there dreaming of the book I'd write one day. The book is now real, but the location still inspires dreams.

I go to Kondogiorgos café on Miaouli street facing the Bourtzi, order a sweet Greek coffee (ellinikos glykos) and drink in the view to recharge my memory of it for another year… or at least until I can return for good.

WHERE'S THE BEST PLACE TO STAY?

The Byron Hotel ((0030 27520 22351; www.byronhotel.gr), near the Catholic church (a converted mosque) on Platonos street, is a charming, centrally located place; from £50-£70.

WHERE WOULD YOU MEET FRIENDS FOR A DRINK?

If not Kondogiorgos café on the seafront, then Kentriko café beneath the large plane tree in Syntagmatos Square. With a mosque-cum-cinema at one end and the Venetian warehouse-cum-museum at the other, this marble-paved hub has to be one of the most attractive squares in Greece. The other mosque nestling unobtrusively by palms in one corner was the first Greek parliament.

WHERE ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES FOR LUNCH?

There has only ever been only one for me: the mezedopolio (Greek tapas) place called O Noulis up Moutzouridou alleyway. Frequented almost totally by locals, Noulis' family-run restaurant offers quite simply the best Greece has to offer. Try the bekri meze (tender chunks of pork in a sweet tomato sauce) or the gemista (stuffed peppers and tomatoes).

AND FOR DINNER?

I'd eat at Noulis' in the evening also, but there's a good new place called Kipos (Garden) on Ethnikis Adiostaseos street just off the town square. Situated aptly enough in a garden, it brings together a range of national dishes beyond the predictable Greek salad and moussaka. The all-year Greek tourism also ensures that many of the dozen or so restaurants along Staikopoulou street are also safe bets.

WHERE WOULD YOU SEND A FIRST-TIME VISITOR?

There's a gorgeous walk around the headland west along the seafront from Kondogiorgos café that swings you through a rocky arch into a stunning view of the eighteenth-century Palamidi fortress towering 216 metres above the town. Take a taxi up there (rather than the 857 steps) and look down on the patchwork of Venetian terracotta roofs. Then spend an hour or two getting lost in the alleys before eating your way towards a balmy siesta.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM TO AVOID?

New Nafplio on the road to Athens is an identikit Greek town of tedious white concrete, poor road surfaces and mess. That said, it's undeniably authentic.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT OR TAXI?

You can walk anywhere in Nafplio within minutes. If you want to remind yourself of the tourist version of Greece, hop on a bus opposite the court house and spend an afternoon in Tolo (20 mins away.)

HANDBAG OR MONEYBELT?

I never locked my door when I lived there and have never heard about any thefts or pickpocketing. Single women will likely be targeted by the local lotharios, or kamakia (harpoons), but the place is generally as safe as it gets.

WHAT SHOULD I TAKE HOME?

Jewellery shops abound, but the town has developed something of a reputation for worry beads, or kombologia. These are not the nasty plastic tourist tat one sees in kiosks, but exquisite works in amber, horn, and coral. It might take you half a lifetime to master the technique, but it's oddly worth the effort.

AND IF I'VE ONLY TIME FOR ONE SHOP?

The ironmongery on Plapouta street opposite St George's church sells such a baffling variety of glittering knick-knacks that I challenge anyone to enter and emerge without a bell, coffee-grinder, poker, oil-drizzler or brass doorknocker.

James McCreet is the author of The Incendiary’s Trail (Macmillan, £16.99), published next week.